Brexit puts the UK’s current frictionless trade in energy with the EU at risk.This isamongst the findings fromthe House of Lords’ EU Energy and Environment Sub-Committee’s report Brexit: energy security, published today.

The EU is a key energy trading partner for the UK, supplying approximately 12% of the UK’s gas and 5% of electricity. The UK will need to continue to trade energy with the EU in order to meet demand, but if such trade takes place outside the Internal Energy Market it is likely to be less efficient. This creates the potential for higher energy bills, and leaving the EU could risk supply shortages in the event of extreme weather or unplanned generation outages.

The Committee urges the Government to set out how it will work with the EU to anticipate and manage supply shortages, and to assess what impact leaving the Internal Energy Market would have on the price paid by consumers for their energy.

The Committee has also stressed that the Euratom treaty is fundamental to the current functioning of nuclear energy generation in the UK. Failure to replace its provisions by the point of withdrawal could result in the UK being unable to import nuclear materials, bringing the UK’s civil nuclear industry to a halt.

The Government is taking measures to avoid this worst case scenario but, given the risk to the UK’s energy security if replacement provision is not in place in time, the Committee call on the Government to ensure contingency arrangements are in place and to review the possibility of a Euratom-specific transition period separate from the wider Brexit process.

Other potential challenges to the UK’s energy security highlighted by the Committee include:

– Without access to specialist EU workers, there are serious concerns over whether the construction of new nuclear generation sites (including the Government’s flagship Hinkley C project) is feasible.

– EU investment has made an important contribution to constructing and maintaining a secure energy system in the UK. Replacement of this funding is critical to ensuring sufficient infrastructure is in place to enable future energy trading.

– The UK’s influence of future energy policy is likely to be severely constrained post-Brexit. The Government should conduct a frank assessment of its potential degree of influence, taking particular note of the difficulties faced by other non-EU countries such as Switzerland and Norway.

“Individuals and businesses across the UK depend on a reliable and affordable supply of energy. In recent years, the UK has achieved such a supply in partnership with the EU, working with other Member States to make cross-border trade in energy easier and cheaper.

“Over the course of the inquiry the Committee heard about the benefits of the UK’s current energy relationship with the EU, and the Minister acknowledged these benefits when he stated his hope that Brexit would result in as little change as possible. It remains unclear, however, how this can be achieved, without remaining in the single market, IEM and the other bodies that develop and implement the EU’s energy policy.”

Notes

The Committee’s report, Brexit: energy security will be available on the Committee’s website on 00:01 on Monday 29 January.

Lord Teverson has recorded a YouTube video summarising the report’s key findings. This can be embedded in third-party websites and permission is not needed for reuse. The video can be seen on the link above and will go live at 00:01 on Monday 29 January. All content from the video is embargoed until 00:01 on Monday 29 January.

Oxford based journalist and consultant, who writes about business, especially the global energy business including exploration. Also editor Oxfordprospect.co.uk. Writes about a variety of topics including production, power generation including renewables, innovation, investment, markets, technology, regulation, leadership, policy making and management.